John Gathungu, an elder, addressing journalists during a meeting in Kirinyaga on August 17, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERA

A section of Kikuyu elders from
Kirinyaga County has rejected attempts to create separate Mt Kenya East and Mt
Kenya West political blocs, warning that the move could divide the region for
individual political gain.

The elders, drawn from the Kiama Kia
Ma outfit, also distanced themselves from a meeting held in Embu last week by
elders from the Njuri Ncheke Supreme Council, Nyaangi Ndiriri, Kiama Kia
Muembu, Ngome and Mwea Council of Elders.

“We are very angry that there are
leaders who aren’t even from Kirinyaga making absurd proclamations that parts
of Kirinyaga should be and will be part of Mt Kenya East,” Chief Elder Muriithi
Warutere said.

The Embu meeting brought together
elders from Meru, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi, Kirinyaga and Isiolo, who declared
themselves the Mt Kenya East Councils of Elders and endorsed Deputy President
Kithure Kindiki as President William Ruto’s running mate in the 2027 General
Election. They also backed his future presidential ambitions.

In their joint resolution, the
elders said Mt Kenya East had for decades supported leaders from Mt Kenya West
and that the time had come for the western side to reciprocate by backing
Kindiki.

They also mandated their councils to
engage Mt Kenya West elders, including Kiama Kia Ma, in efforts to establish a
common political position.

But the Kirinyaga elders said the
Embu declaration could not be used to determine the political identity or
direction of their county without consulting residents.

Warutere said Kirinyaga had elected
leaders mandated to represent its people and warned against turning the county
and the wider Mt Kenya region into political instruments.

“We as elders and the people of
Kirinyaga stand firm in denying this. We refuse to be included in someone who
is seeking a political lifeline using us. We are part of one region, Mt Kenya,
and we speak in one voice,” he said.

The elders also rejected attempts to
classify areas such as Mwea and Gichugu as part of a separate Mt Kenya East
political bloc, insisting that Kirinyaga remained part of the wider Mt Kenya
region.

Members of Kiama Kia Ma council of elders during a meeting in Kirinyaga county on August 17, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERA

John Gathungu, another elder, said
political pronouncements could not redefine the county’s identity or determine
who should speak for its residents.

“We want to tell those people trying
to classify us as Mt Kenya East that Kirinyaga starts from River Sagana to
River Rupingazi. They have no authority to speak on our behalf on matters of politics,” Gathungu said.

He said Kirinyaga had elected leaders
from the governor to MPs and MCAs who had the mandate to represent residents,
adding that political decisions affecting the county should not be made by
individuals without the people’s consent.

Gathungu said the proposed division
also went against the historical ties that brought the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru
communities together under GEMA.

“On matters of Mt. Kenya East and West,
we as elders want to remind them that our ancestors brought Gikuyu, Embu and
Meru together to form GEMA, and that is what we the people from Mt Kenya, recognise. We are one people, and we won’t be divided for some people to gain
politically and individually,” he said.

The Embu elders had, however, framed
their position as an effort to strengthen Mt Kenya East’s political bargaining
power while still calling for dialogue with Mt Kenya West.

Their resolution also endorsed
Ruto’s re-election and placed Kindiki at the centre of their proposed political
engagement with the wider region.

The Kirinyaga elders said their
opposition was not directed at their neighbours in Embu and Mbeere, with whom
they said they maintained cordial relations, but at attempts to impose a
political identity on Kirinyaga without the consent of its residents.

“We love our neighbours from Embu
and Mbeere, but we are Kirinyaga and we are all one people and won’t accept to
be divided,” Warutere said.

Waweru Mugo, an elder from Mwea,
said the proposed political realignment was being driven by political interests
rather than the needs of ordinary residents.

He urged leaders to stop using
Kirinyaga and the wider Mt Kenya region as political pawns, saying residents
should be allowed to determine their own political direction ahead of the 2027
General Election.